Political Roundup: 28 March 2023

Other items of interest and importance today

POSIE PARKER RALLY
The Facts: New Zealanders are world leaders in respecting transgender men and women
Chris Trotter (Interest): An ugly demonstration
William Hewett (Newshub): Sir Peter Gluckman warns New Zealand’s social cohesion at risk, society needs to accept transgender people have rights
Rachel Smalley (Today FM): How on earth did the Greens become so anti-women?
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Marama backs down on hating Cracker, and I’m not sure I recognise the Green Party any longer
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Will calling for tax cuts be banned as hate speech? (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): PM Chris Hipkins says politicians need to be ‘eyes wide open’ about polarisation this election
Michael Neilson (Herald): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says NZ not isolated from a ‘greater degree of polarisation’ sweeping the globe
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): How NZ conspiracy groups latched on to the Posie Parker controversy
Kiwiblog: Guest Post: Where has the middle gone?
Andrew Dickens (Newstalk ZB): Posie Parker’s visit and the fallout played out exactly as predicted
Herald: PM Chris Hipkins says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson gets ‘leeway’ for her ‘white cis men’ comment
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): “I am the prevention violence Minister, and I know who causes violence in the world, and it’s white cis men”
Jaime Ensor (Newshub): Marama Davidson blames being hit by motorcycle for lack of clarity in ‘white cis men’ comments
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Marama Davidson ‘should have made clear’ violence against women is in every community
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Marama Davidson clarifies violence comments from Posie Parker protest after calls to resign
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Family violence advocate Jackie Clark says Marama Davidson saying what those in field have ‘been saying for long time’
Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Chris Hipkins condemns physical violence at protest after Posie Parker doused in red juice
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Prime Minister Chris Hipkins condemns juice throwing at anti-trans protester Posie Parker
1News: MPs weigh in on free speech debate following Posie Parker protests
Lloyd Burr (Today FM): The tomato juice ruined a celebration of individuality and acceptance
Oscar Jackson (Today FM): Shaneel Lal condemns tomato juice thrower in Posie Parker protest debate
RNZ: Group backing Posie Parker making complaint over ‘lack of intervention’ by police

LOBBYING, POLITICAL DONATIONS
Guyon Espiner (RNZ): Lobbyist Holly Bennett is lobbying her own colleagues to be more accountable to the public
Liam Hehir (Blue Review): How to think about lobbying
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): Guyon Espiner on NZ’s troublesome lobbying laws (podcast)
Jacqui Van Der Kaay (Democracy Project): Integrity of politicians deserves scrutiny
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): NZ First receives $116,000 bequest from the late environmentalist Hugh Barr

SPY AGENCIES, FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Damien Venuto (Herald): The Front Page: TikTok, trade, and Taiwan – what’s testing our ties with China?
Grady Connell (Today FM): A retrospective on Nanaia Mahuta’s trip to China and what’s to come
Thomas Manch (Stuff): SIS warns of growing foreign interference threat
Adam Pearse (Herald): Foreign interference rising as spies reveal three foiled terror threats in New Zealand
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): States conducting foreign interference against New Zealand could ’cause significant harm’, spies refuse to discuss Jason Zhao case
Richard Harman (Politik): We couldn’t possibly comment (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): New Zealanders spread Russian anti-vaccination propaganda before Parliament occupation
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): GCSB helped prevent three potential domestic terror attacks – Director-General Andrew Hampton

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THREE WATERS
Simon Wilson (Herald): Mayor Wayne Brown’s finger to the rest of the country (paywalled)
Todd Niall (Stuff): The role of free lunches in Auckland’s $295m fiscal hole
Todd Niall (Stuff): Friend of Wayne Brown gets permanent role in the mayor’s office, but isn’t on the payroll
Anne Gibson (Herald): Auckland Council budget: Retreat from five buildings to cut costs; tenants sought, furniture and fittings for sale (paywalled)
Christine Rovoi (Stuff): Auckland council’s proposed budget could impact Tātaki, chief executive says
Erin Johnson (Stuff): Documents reveal how Auckland Transport reacted to taking an ‘enthusiastic kicking’ in the election campaign
Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Wayne Brown’s conversion on the road to Victoria St
Stephen Ward (Waikato Times): Ex-deputy challenges Hamilton mayor’s claim city never considered leaving LGNZ
Nicholas Boyack (Stuff): Upper Hutt council dips into reserves to keep rates increase under 6%
Lauren Crimp (RNZ): Wellington hospitality owners ‘disheartened’, mayor says ‘council has part to play’
Keiller MacDuff (Stuff): Council consent delays cost Christchurch ratepayers $750,000 in less than a year
Samatha Gee (RNZ): West Coast mayors have ‘heartening conversation’ over water reform fears
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): D-day for West Coast Regional Council chairperson Allan Birchfield
Lois Williams (Newsroom): West Coast Regional Council looks to unseat its chair
Emily Ireland (Local Democracy Reporting): Voting age change not favoured by Carterton District Council
Stuff: Sir Tim Shadbolt in hospital for respite care after stressful period

ECONOMY, COST OF LIVING, INEQUALITY
Max Rashbrooke (Herald): The verdict on this Government’s child poverty action (paywalled)
Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Who are the winners in this bout of inflation?
Duncan Garner (NBR): Economy a terrible case of self-harming (paywalled)
Cameron Bagrie (BusinessDesk): Inflation – is it time to shift the goalposts? (paywalled)
Michael Reddell: RB chief economist on inflation
RNZ: NZ may find it harder to borrow if global banking sector worries drag on – economist
Liam Dann (Herald): Worker shortage still severe despite slowdown – EMA Business Survey (paywalled)
Brian Easton (Pundit): High Performance Instability In The Financial Sector
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Reserve Bank expected to keep its inflation fight going despite weaker than expected GDP, cyclone impact & global banking ructions
David Chaston (Interest): Household bank account balances struggle to hold their own against inflation

HEALTH, DISABILITY
Cécile Meier (BusinessDesk): The price of a life: cost of life-saving drugs ‘verging on extortionate’
Tim Brown (RNZ): Claim $90m in ‘savings’ for new Dunedin Hospital will be meaningless by opening date
Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): Dunedin Hospital has been ‘running down to the bone for years’ – doctor
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): Why Wellington has the worst access to CT and MRI scans in NZ
RNZ: Covid-19 update: 11,258 new cases, 76 further deaths attributed to the virus
Mana Wikaire-Lewis (Whakaata Māori): Disabled community fighting systemic racism for better health outcomes

CLIMATE CHANGE, CYCLONE GABRIELLE, INFRASTRUCTURE
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): The Detail: Assessing Labour’s record on climate action
RNZ: Esk Valley residents vent frustration two months after cyclone
Susan Botting (Local Democracy Reporting): Northland councils say $250m needed to fix thousands of slips
Sam Stubbs (Stuff): How KiwiSaver could fund the infrastructure we need
Michael Naylor (The Conversation): How and where we build needs to change in the face of more extreme weather – the insurance industry can help

PIKE RIVER
RNZ: Pike River court ruling has ‘changed the course of justice’ – Bernie Monk
RNZ: Pike River Mine: Bernie Monk hails decision to release legal documents to families
No Right Turn: A significant decision for transparency

EDUCATION
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): Audit of NZ schools finds 19 in financial difficulty
RNZ: Many schools not budgeting properly – Auditor-General
Dave Armstrong (Stuff): ‘Back to basics’ education policy push is all too familiar
Allan Alach (Daily Blog): Analysing National’s Education Policy

HOUSING
Miriam Bell (Stuff): Why landlording is the business that is not treated as a business
RNZ: Concerns for safety and health of Queenstown homeless as winter creeps closer
Stuff: National housing conference aims to ‘change the narrative’ on Māori housing

CO-GOVERNANCE MEETINGS
Vaimoana Mase (Herald): Auckland Council cancels venue bookings for co-governance adversaries
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (1News): Auckland Council cancels venue for anti co-governance meeting
Hawke’s Bay Today: Hawke’s Bay Co-Governance meeting cancelled; Ngāti Kahungunu open letter says events amplify ‘hateful rhetoric’
Laura Smith (Local Democracy Reporting): Rotorua club withdraws venue hire for controversial anti-co-governance event
Kiri Gillespie and Laura Smith (Bay of Plenty Times): Stop Co-Governance Tour meeting to go ahead in Tauranga, but with warning
Marty Sharpe (Stuff): ‘Stop Co-Governance’ talk canned due to expected ‘noise and protest’

BUSINESS
Nona Pelletier (RNZ): Two major operators still stifling competition in grocery sector, The Warehouse says
Maria Slade (NBR): Scams slip through New Zealand’s many regulatory cracks (paywalled)
Paul McBeth (BusinessDesk): ComCom eyes competition issues in payments systems (paywalled)

MEDIA
Gavin Ellis: Super-injunctions make an unwelcome appearance
Duncan Greive (Spinoff): The high stakes of an obscure but very tense battle between TVNZ and Sky

OTHER
Emile Donovan (Stuff): Does our anti-nuclear approach need a rethink?
Damien Grant (Stuff): I made it into a book on extremists, but the book is boring
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk): Rebecca Kitteridge fills in as head of PM’s department (paywalled)
Conor Knell (Stuff): Vandals damage Massey Memorial, paint over bronze relief and shatter marble dome
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Court action over proposed gold mine under conservation land
Candice Luke (Herald): Māori Greenpeace activists confront deep-sea mining research ship
RNZ: Animal welfare group calls for ban on all caged eggs
Jack Horsnell (1News): How many guards have been hired after Corrections’ $4m ad campaign?
Steven Joyce: (Herald) Government’s $16 billion Lake Onslow folly should’ve gone to the ‘policy bonfire’ (paywalled)